What is a digital signature in Outlook 2007? Difference between a digital signature and a standard signature? Is the digital signature feature available for free?
The digital signature is attached to an email to provide another layer of security by assuring to the recipient that you and nobody else has signed for the contents of the email. It includes your certificate and the public key that originates from your digital ID. The difference is that a standard signature can be copied by anyone and send emails, but a digitally signed message can only be sent by the owner of the digital id used to sign in. It is available for free, but encryption feature is not available.
An email message that includes a digital signature attached to it provides another layer of security by giving assurance to the recipient that you personally signed the contents of the message and not an imposter. A digital signature is a mathematical scheme for validating the authenticity of digital messages or documents.
A valid digital signature provides a recipient reason to believe that the message was created by a known sender (authentication), that the message was not modified in transit (integrity), and that the sender can’t deny having sent the message (non-repudiation). The digital signature originates from the user’s digital ID and it includes the user’s certificate and public key.
That digital ID serves as the user’s unique digital mark and signals the recipient that the content of the message has not been altered or modified in transit. The digital signature is the standard element of the majority of cryptographic protocol suites and is commonly used for software distribution, contract management software, financial transactions, and in other cases where the detection of tampering or forgery is vital.
